


Across the Ages (or "How Leonard McCoy Got Used to Being a Vampire")

by sladeninstitute



Series: McKirk Vampire AU [2]
Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Vampire, Chatting & Messaging, Dialogue Heavy, Dialogue-Only, Implied Sexual Content, Light Angst, M/M, Minor Character Death, Romance, Skype
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-06
Updated: 2016-10-14
Packaged: 2018-08-19 21:19:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,512
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8225080
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sladeninstitute/pseuds/sladeninstitute
Summary: Picks up from Year of the Vampire (or "How Leonard McCoy Became Friends with a Weirdo") and follows Jim and Bones across the ages. Leonard is forced to confront his new status as a vampire and accept the impact it has on what had been a mundane, mortal life. Jim is right by Bones' side to guide through his new-found vampirism. Together, the couple will weather events from late 2013 onward, past the epilogue of the original story, and into the 2260s.





	1. October 2013

**Author's Note:**

> Over two years ago, I finished up my longest work to date. Year of the Vampire (or "How Leonard McCoy Became Friends with a Weirdo") was a well received work and was so much fun to write. At the time of completion, I mentioned that I might eventually come around and write a sequel/companion piece. I've started that companion piece at least once before, but it never really came to fruition before now. Here we are two years later with the continuing saga of Jim Kirk and Leonard "Bones" McCoy. I genuinely hope that you enjoy it as much as you enjoyed the original work. Please feel free to leave comments, questions, or concerns below.

**02 October 2013**

“You’re awake.”

“I shouldn’t be.”

“But you are. You’re alive.”

“I’m supposed to be dead, Jim.”

“I couldn’t….you couldn’t….I didn’t….”

“Jim. I want to make it very clear that I still love you, but right now I need you to get the fuck out of my house.”

“Bones, please don’t do this. Don’t push me away.”

“ _Get. Out._ ”

“Bones….”

“ **GET OUT!** ”

- _Jim climbs off the bed and heads for the bedroom door. He stops, turns to say something, but shakes his head solemnly and leaves instead._ -

* * *

**03 October 2013**

_-Leonard McCoy (mccoy1981) is now online-_

JK: Bones?

LM: Jim.

JK: At least you didn’t delete me as a contact, I guess I’ve got that much going for me.

LM: Why’d you do it?

JK: Do what?

LM: Jim, don’t play dumb with me. I’m not having it and I know you know what I mean.

JK: Don’t play dumb with me either. You know exactly why I did it. I couldn’t let you die.

LM: You could’ve. You should’ve. I was ready to go, it was my time to go.

JK: It wasn’t your time to go! You’re all I’ve got, Bones. I finally met someone who didn’t want to burn me at the stake, someone who accepted me for what I am, someone who loves me. And then the universe tried to take him away from me. I couldn’t lose you. I’ve lost too many people already.

LM: Jim….

- _Leonard McCoy (mccoy1981) is now offline-_

JK: Bones, you’ve gotta understand.

JK: I love you.

- _Your message will be delivered the next time Leonard McCoy (mccoy1981) is online_ -

* * *

**07 October 2013**

- _Incoming text message from Jim Kirk: (510) 555-8267_ -

JK: bones

LM: What do you want, Jim?

JK: i want to know ur ok. how are you doing?

LM: You want to know if I’m okay?

JK: yea

LM: I’m fine.

JK: ur lying. please bones cant we talk abt this?

JK: u have 2 talk 2 me eventually. you have 2 come to terms w/ what u are. i can help u.

JK: i kno how hard it is at first. feeling like ur a monster. like ur all alone. not understanding the urges.

JK: being afraid of who u are, what u’ve become. being afraid of what u crave.

JK: ur not a monster tho. and i wanna be there 4 u. b/c nobody was there for me.

LM: I’m scared, Jim.

JK: i kno. please bones. can i come over?

LM: Please.

JK: i’ll be there asap. i love you.

* * *

  **08 October 2013**

“You’ve gotta be starving by now, Bones.”

“I’m not. I’m fine.”

“Bullshit. You’re pale as a ghost and you look like death.”

“Ha ha. Very funny. I’m a vampire, you’re a vampire, we all look like death because we’re both essentially dead. So goddamn funny.”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry! Calm down. You’ve got to be honest with me though. I know you’re starving and I know that you don’t know what to do. I know that you don’t _want_ to know what to do.

“The Hippocratic Oath, Jim. Do no harm. I can’t bite someone and take away their blood.”

“You don’t have to bite a person. Animals work just fine. How do you think I’ve survived so long?”

“I figured you were bitin’ people on the side and just not tellin’ me about it.”

“You’re the only person I’ve ever bitten. And that was only because you let me. Even then it wasn’t that pleasant. You tasted like ass.”

“Yeah, yeah. I remember. You wouldn’t let me live it down even though I was doin’ you a goddamn favor by lettin’ you bite me in the first place.”

“Anyway. You can feed off an animal. They won’t be harmed, and you’ll walk away positively rejuvenated.”

“So….I just….bite down? On the neck?”

“You just bite down on the neck. Don’t worry, the little guy won’t feel anything. Not unless you fuck up, that is.”

“How comfortin’, Jim. - _high pitched_ \- Oh, it’ll all be fine! He won’t feel anything! Unless you fuck it up.”

“Bones. I know what you’re trying to do. You’re trying to stall and it’s not going to work on me. I’m the master of stalling and I see right through you.”

“I’m not stalling.”

“Stop. Just bite down on the neck and...well, you know. You can’t keep stalling. Feeding is part of being a vampire and you’ve gotta get used to it. You already look like you’re about to fall over and it’s because you’re starving yourself.”

“I guess I gotta do this, huh?”

“Booooooones.”

“Alright, alright. I’ll quit stallin’.”

“Good. Let’s go find a neighbour’s fluffy little bunny for you to turn into Bunnicula.”

“You’re an insufferable little shit, Jim.”

“I know.”

* * *

**09 October 2013**

- _Leonard McCoy (mccoy1981) is now online_ -

- _Jim Kirk (countkirkula) is now online_ -

LM: Thanks. For your help. With you know what.

JK: You’re welcome, Bonesy.

JK: Bonesy, Bunny Slayer of the Ages!

JK: He prowls through the night, attacking the neighbour’s bunny, in search of…..

JK: BLOOOOOOOOOOD!

LM: The bunny isn’t dead. I didn’t slay him.

JK: No, but you did make that poor bunny wake up.

LM: Yeah, I feel pretty bad about that. Still, it was my first time. Did you mess up your first time?

JK: Nahhhhh. I was a natural! :)

JK: I took to sucking blood like a professional!

JK: It’s too bad you suck at sucking!

LM: You ain’t making me feel any better.

JK: Awh

JK: I’m sorry, Bonesy.

JK: You’ll get better with practice.

JK: I hope.

LM: I’m rolling my eyes at you.

JK: I’m sure you are. You almost always do.

JK: Can I ask you a question?

LM: I guess. I’ve been bombarding you with questions over the past couple days, it’s only fair you get to ask one in return.

JK: Do you still love me?

JK: I’m afraid you don’t any more.

JK: It’s fine if you don’t.

LM: Why would you ask that?

JK: Well….

JK: You haven’t let me spend the night with you since this ordeal started.

JK: You didn’t talk to me for days.

JK: and I did go completely against your dying wish so I could understand if that sorta soured the love you have for me.

LM: Jim, I’m not gonna lie to you. I was pissed off at what you did. There’s still part of me that’s pissed off at what you did. I told you that I didn’t want this, I didn’t want to be a vampire. I never wanted to live forever, and there’s still part of me that wishes you would’ve respected that. But can I fault you for what you did? Nah. You saw how irrationally I acted back when you wound up in the hospital and I thought you were on the verge of death. This was like that, except I didn’t have magic vampire healing powers on my side. I was a goner. But you kept me from dying.

JK: So….you still love me?

JK: Because that was kind of long winded and you didn’t really come right out and say it.

LM: Of course I still love you, you dope. You’re all I’ve got.

JK: oh thank god

JK: I was terrified that I was gonna be alone again.

JK: That would’ve been terrible.

JK: The first vampire I’ve met in ages and I might’ve scared him off.

LM: I think if we’ve gotten through this much together, I’m not running away.

JK: can I come over?

JK: Please?

JK: We don’t have to do anything. I just want to be near you. The distance between us has been killing me.

LM: The door’s unlocked.

JK: :) :) :)

- _Jim Kirk (countkirkula) is now offline-_

_-Leonard McCoy (mccoy1981) is now offline-_

* * *

**15 October 2013**

“Jim?”

“Yeah, Bones?”

“How do we explain this away?”

“Explain what away?”

“A month ago, I was on the verge of death. I resigned from my job, I said my goodbyes to my family. Everyone probably thinks I’m dead at this point because I haven’t talked to anyone besides you since this started. And now, to top it all off, I’m immortal. How in the sam hill do I explain away my miraculous recovery from pancreatic cancer, the fact that I can’t go out in the sunlight any more, and that I suddenly don’t show up in mirrors?”

“Yeahhhhh….I didn’t….really think about all that.”

“That constituted an incredible lack of foresight on your part, wouldn’t you agree?”

"I guess so. In the heat of the moment all I could think about was keeping you alive. I didn't consider what would come after."

"And so, here we are. In the eyes of the world I'm probably dead when the exact opposite is true."

"We could move. I don't want to leave Oakland, but I would be willing to do that for you."

" _Move?_  Jim, I really appreciate that you'd be willin' to leave your crypt of a home behind for me, but moving is out of the question. Moving's the same as running away. It won't do any good. Even if we moved somewhere where nobody had ever heard of me, I wouldn't be able to work. I'd have to explain why I was using the medical credentials of a man presumed dead. I can't lie either and say that I came up with some miracle cure to terminal pancreatic cancer. Assuming that anyone bought that massive crock of shit in the first place, people would expect me to market it and make it widely available. I don't have jack shit that can cure cancer."

"Didn't you say that you were gonna stop calling my house a crypt?"

"That's what you got out of all that? That I called your damn house a crypt?"

"I'm insulted, Bones."

"Suck it up. I'm bein' serious here. I don't know what to do. I can't not work, I'll go out of my damn mind. But I don't see any way out of this."

"What about just telling people that against all odds, you went into remission? Tell people that you didn't do anything special. Your five year survival rate looks excellent and that presuming you live that long without incident, you'll return to the medical world then. In the intervening time, we could take you out of the public eye and go travelling. See the world, take in everything that Earth has to offer."

"I dunno, Jim. It still seems a little far fetched."

"It doesn't matter that it's far fetched! People have gotten away with stories more far fetched, and you wouldn't be lying. You did go into remission against all odds. You didn't do anything special. I was the one who healed you. Your five year survival rate looks excellent, as does your five hundred year survival rate. This way you'd still be able to use your own name, your own medical credentials, and you wouldn't lose any of the prestige you've gained in your career. You're just putting everything on hiatus."

"I'm willin' to give it a shot, at the very least. I can go talk to the director at the hospital one day next week. Let's just hope he buys it."

"He will. You're alive, you're charming, and I think he'll be too thrilled with the fact that his award-winning neurosurgeon is back from the dead to ask too many questions."

* * *

  **21 October 2013**

- _Incoming text message from Leonard McCoy: _(510)__ 555-3287-

LM: Just got out of the Director's office.

JK: how'd it go?

JK: did he buy it?

LM: It was like you said. He was too busy trying to pick his jaw up off the floor to ask any questions.

JK: is ur job secure?

LM: I assume so.

JK: u assume?

JK: u know what they say about people who assume

JK: they make an ass out of u and me

LM: How original. I've never heard that before. Yes, my job's secure. He said there would always be a spot for me at San Francisco General.

JK: good. ive got smth more important 2 tlk 2 u abt tho

LM: More important, huh?

JK: ye

JK: u kno what next thursday is rite?

JK: ??

JK: ????

LM: Halloween.

LM: Oh dear god, you're not really wanting to do something for Halloween are you?

JK: OF COURSE I WANT TO DO SOMETHING FOR HALLOWEEN

JK: its time to break out the spooky scary skeletons

JK: or in our case

JK: the spooky scary vampires.

JK: i already bought costumes for the both of us.

JK: im gonna be the young, hot vampire and ur gonna be my older, vampire lover.

LM: I don't see any difference from what we already are.

JK: :D :D :D

JK: is that a yes?

JK: i want 2 go trick or treating

LM: You already bought the costumes. Might as well put them to use, I guess.

JK: omg omg

JK: thx bonesy

JK: u won't regret it

* * *

  **31 October 2013**

"Bones."

"- _snoring-_ "

"Bones!"

"- _snoring halts, then resumes-"_

"Dammit Bones, wake up!"

"Mmnnn....I was sleepin'. 'S better be an emergency."

"It's an emergency, alright!"

"Are you bleeding, burnt, dead, or dyin'?"

"No. But it's still an emergency!"

"'s not an emergency if you're not dyin'. Go back to sleep."

"But it's HALLOWEEN, Bones! The clock just struck midnight! The witching hour is upon us!"

"You're about to see the goddamn bitching hour if you don't let me sleep, Jim Kirk."

"Someone's grumpy. It's not like you have to work today. You don't have to do anything today except love me and then go trick or treating with me. That means you can stay up now and entertain me and then sleep later"

"- _snoring resumes-_ "

"Oh, c'mon! WAAAAAAKE UP!!! Why aren't you in the Halloween spirit?!"

"Go to sleep, Jim."

"Fine, fine. I love you, Bones."

"Love you too."

"If you really loved me, you'd wake up and be excited about Halloween with me."

"Go the fuck to sleep, Jim."

"Fine. Goodnight, Mr. Grumpy-pants."

"- _snoring resumes yet again-_ "


	2. November 2013

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is angst ahead in this chapter. If talk of death, suicide, or mental illness are unsettling to you I would advise not reading this chapter.

**01 November 2013**

_-Jim Kirk (countkirkula) is now online-_

JK: Bones!

LM: You’re kidding, right?

JK: Whaaaat?

LM: You sent me an IM even though you’re sitting right beside me.

JK: I didn’t feel like opening my mouth. Too much work.

LM: And yet typing out words isn’t too much work?

JK: Exactly.

LM: Have I mentioned lately that you’re a goddamn trip?

JK: Not in a couple hours, at least. Are you ever going to stop calling me a trip?

LM: Are you ever going to stop being a trip?

JK: Probably not. I’m full of surprises.

LM: Then I’ll probably never stop calling you a trip.

JK: So……

LM: So what?

JK: It’s November!

LM: Yeah, and…?

JK: Aaaaand that means it’s going to start getting chilly soon!

LM: Maybe if we lived anywhere other than California.

JK: I knew you’d say that.

JK: So I’m saying that we should go somewhere chilly!

JK: Preferably cloudy or rainy as well.

JK: Y’know. Because of the vampire thing.

JK: It affects both of us now.

JK: Because you’re my vampire boyfriend.

JK: and I’m your vampire boyfriend.

LM: Seven messages in a row. That might be a new record for you, vampire boy.

JK: I’m not a boy!!!

JK: I’m 268 years old, Bones.

JK: Older than you.

JK: Though, with the way you act, I couldn’t blame anyone for thinking that you’re older than me.

JK: You act like an old man.

LM: Is this your way of getting me to go on vacation with you?

JK: If it is, is it working?

LM: Not in the slightest.

JK: Then it’s not my way of getting you to go on vacation with me.

LM: …..Where do you want to go, Jim?

JK: :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D !!!!!!!

JK: I can’t believe you gave in that quickly.

JK: I hadn’t actually finished planning out where I wanted to go.

JK: at some point I kinda figured you’d just shoot me down and that it was pointless to actually come up with a destination.

LM: Come on, you should know me better than that by now. We’ve gone on at least two trips together in the last year, and that was before we were….y’know.

JK: Boyfriends?

LM: Yep.

JK: Is there anywhere you’d want to go?

JK: Remember

JK: It has to be chilly

JK: and cloudy

JK: and maybe

LM: I REMEMBER THE CRITERIA, JIM

JK: There’s no need to shout. Even digitally.

LM: Sorry. You just drag things out too much.

JK: Apology accepted.

LM: There’s actually somewhere I’ve been wanting to go. I brought it up awhile back and you said you were fine with it, but I know better than to believe that.

JK: You know me, Bones! A vacation to anywhere is exciting.

LM: So, you’d be okay with going to Tarrytown?

JK: Tarrytown?

JK: As in Tarrytown, New York?

LM: Yeah.

JK: Why would you wanna go there?

JK: There’s nothing there.

JK: Just bad memories.

LM: That’s why, Jim. You’re always so reluctant to talk about your past and sometimes it just feels like you’re avoiding it altogether.

JK: I’m not avoiding it.

LM: Jim. You haven’t been back there since before you “died.” You don’t talk about it. I know that it’s got to hurt.

JK: Yeah, Bones. It hurts.

JK: Why do you think I never talk about it?

JK: I went gallivanting off to Europe and then wound up getting turned into a vampire.

JK: I couldn’t go back to Tarrytown.

JK: I didn’t want my family to know what I’d become.

JK: I abandoned them.

JK: I had to.

LM: Jim, I’m not going to fault you for not going back while your parents were alive. But at the risk of sounding insensitive, they’re long gone now. Isn’t there some part of you that wants to find out what happened to them? Maybe there are other Kirks running around up there.

JK: And if there are?

JK: What am I supposed to say to them?

JK: “Hey guys, I’m your great-great-great-great-something or other and you’re all related to me. Oh, by the way, I’m 268 years old, I’m a vampire, and the moody guy standing next to me is a vampire too.”

LM: That’s not what you say. Make up a lie or something. You’re a long lost cousin.

JK: Bones, I can’t do it.

JK: I can’t go back up there.

JK: I know that I lied and said I was fine with it a few months ago but I can’t do it. I won’t do it.

JK: Please don’t make me.

LM: I’m not gonna force you to do anything.

JK: Thanks.

JK: I’m going to head upstairs.

JK: Gotta get my beauty rest.

LM: Alright. I love you.

JK: I love you too.

_-Jim Kirk (countkirkula) is now offline-_

* * *

**03 November 2013**

“Bones? Are you awake?”

“Only just. Whaddaya want?”

“Never mind. It’s nothing. Go back to sleep.”

“Now you’ve got me intrigued. You always want to talk, but now you’re backin’ off a’ somethin’? Spill it.”

“It’s nothing, Bones. I promise.”

“That’s the fakest sounding promise I ever heard, and I deal with liars all day at the hospital.”

“I was just….thinking.”

“About?”

“What we were talking about on Friday.”

“Tarrytown?”

“Tarrytown.”

“What were you thinkin’ about it for?”

“Maybe you’re right. Maybe I should go back. Face up to the memories.”

“Maybe I am right, but I can’t make this decision for you. It’s about what you wanna do, Jim.”

“Sometimes the right thing and the hard thing -- are the same thing.”

“You stole that line from Tina Fey.”

“I did, but it’s relevant. I can’t keep running. We’re going to Tarrytown.”

“If you’re sure.”

“I’m sure.”

“Great. Can I get some shut eye now?”

“Only if you tell me that you’re proud of me for doing something difficult.”

“I’m proud of you. Can I sleep now?”

“That sounded really fake, Bones.”

“I’m gonna wring your neck.”

“Just go to bed.”

* * *

**04 November 2013**

- _Incoming text message from Leonard McCoy: (510) 555-3287-_

LM: I bought tickets.

JK: tickets?

LM: Plane tickets.

JK: when do we leave?

LM: Day after tomorrow. The 6th.

JK: wat time?

LM: 10PM.

JK: kk

JK: we’re going on a nite flight!

JK: its gonna be xciting

JK: oh god are you gonna puke on me again

LM: Maybe. I still ain’t a fan of planes.

JK: i dont wanna go n-e-more

JK: u ruined my Bon Jovi shirt last time we were on a plane

JK: and u still hvnt bought me a new 1

JK: im not letting u ruin any more of my shirts

LM: Suck it up, cupcake. Tickets are non-refundable.

JK: ur mean.

LM: Only when I have to be.

* * *

**05 November 2013**

“Jim.”

“nnmnmnnnmmm….stop shaking me.”

“Jim!”

“Whaaaaaat, Bonesy?”

“Are you awake?”

“Don’t wanna be.”

“Now you know how I feel, with you wakin’ me up every goddamn night.”

“Is this your way of getting revenge on me? If you don’t want me to wake you up anymore, I won’t.”

“Partly. I actually had some questions I wanted to ask.”

“You thought now would be the best time for that? It’s 1:45 in the afternoon, Bones! This is prime sleeping time.”

“Yeah, well. Too bad.”

“Fine, fine. What did you want to ask me?”

“I want to know more about you. You promised me that you’d eventually tell me more about yourself, but we ain’t broached the subject in months.”

“Like I told you last time, you need to be more specific. Talking about myself is hard. I don’t know where to start.”

“One time, several months ago when we had a fight, you left me a voicemail and said that I wouldn’t be the first person that stopped being your friend. D’you mind if I ask who stopped bein’ your friend? And maybe why?”

“His name was Gary. Gary Mitchell. Gary was the first person that ever stopped being friends with me, instead of me ditching people when it became inconvenient to keep up the normal human façade.”

“To gimme a frame of reference, when were you and Gary friends?”

“The fifties.”

“The 1950s? Or the 1850s?”

“Sorry, the 1950s. 1951, to be exact.”

“OK. What happened with him?”

“He was my best friend. I mean, he was my only friend at the time so he had no choice but to be my best friend. I met him at a bar and we actually wound up getting in a fight over a pretty girl. I think her name was Carol. Anyway, he knocked the shit out of me, Bones. I remember getting knocked out and then waking up draped over a pool table with blood pouring down my face. I knew that he couldn’t kill me, but I still remember being terrified that this guy had knocked my lights out. Nobody had ever done that before. It’s hard to knock out a vampire, I’ll have you know.”

“You wound up….becoming best friends with a guy that knocked the everlivin’ shit outta ya?”

“It sounds weird, I know. I respected him. Partly because it was the first time I felt alive in a long time. Y’know, the whole “fight or flight” response, the adrenaline pumping through me. It was a nice change from my pretty sedentary lifestyle post-World War II. But anyway, after I came to, Gary helped pull me off the pool table and apologized. Said that he’d just heard about his brother dying over in Korea. He had come to the bar to drown his sorrows, and he got a bit rowdy.”

“I’ve seen similar situations play out differently, with people like Gary Mitchell in the OR.”

“Are you going to keep interrupting, or are you going to let me finish telling my story?”

“I apologize, Jim. I’ll be quiet.”

“Thanks. It turned out that Gary was all alone in the world. His parents had died a few years earlier, and with his brother dead, he didn’t have anyone. I could relate, you know? We actually had quite a bit in common. We’d both fought in World War II. I’d gotten discharged from the Army after I got shot in Berlin, but Gary made it through the war physically unharmed and stayed in the Army even post-war. I still lived in San Francisco at the time, so we started hanging out often. Sometimes we’d go out to bars and have a good time, and other times we’d just hang out in one of our apartments. The more we hung out, the more it became clear that he was messed up. Y’know….mentally. Now they’d call it PTSD, but back then people would’ve just called him crazy. I wanted to help him though, so I kept on sticking around.”

“Mmmm.”

“One day he called me, which was completely unheard of. Usually we’d just show up on the other’s doorstep. We never, ever called each other. I picked up the phone and he told me that he couldn’t do it anymore. The flashbacks and the survivor’s guilt were too much. He told me that I’d been a good friend to him and that he appreciated me hanging around with him, but…..”

“Jim…you don’t have to keep talking if you don’t want to.”

“It’s fine, Bones. I’m fine. He called me to tell me that he was going to kill himself. Told me that he didn’t want me to call the cops and that he’d be dead by the time they got there. Being the idiot that I am, I called them anyway. They got there, got him to a hospital, and just barely managed to save his life. In the process though, they put him away in a psychiatric ward. It destroyed his career. He was dishonorably discharged from the Army and he lost everything. By the time he got out of the hospital, he had no money, no job, and no way to pay his rent. He blamed me for it. He was right to. If I had just listened, Bones, if I had just listened. He couldn’t forgive me for causing him to lose his job and his livelihood. Told me that if I ever came near him again he’d kill me. I knew that he couldn’t kill me even if he really wanted to, but I stayed away for his own good. He was the last friend I had before I met you.”

“You’re not an idiot, Jim. You saved his life.”

“I didn’t, Bones. See, I kept tabs on him just to see if he’d managed to get back on his feet. About six months after we stopped talking, he jumped from the Golden Gate Bridge. Nobody stopped him, nobody saved him. He didn’t…..he died, Bones. I left San Francisco for a long time after that.”

“Oh God, Jim….”

“I only made things worse for him. He died because of me. I cost him his job and he killed himself. I was just trying to help him!”

“C’mere, Jim. You listen to me, okay? You didn’t cause him to die. If you hadn’t called the police the first time, he would’ve died then and there and you’d blame yourself for that. You couldn’ta have known about the fallout his hospitalization woulda caused. You are not to blame.”

“You mean that?”

“I mean it with all my heart, darlin’.”

“Thanks…I’m sorry, but I don’t wanna talk about my past any more. Not right now. I can’t.”

“Don’t apologize. I wouldn’ta brought it up if I had known that it would hurt you like this.”

“Can you just….hold me until I fall asleep?”

“Sure can, sweetheart.”

“Thanks.”

“You’re welcome. I love you.”

“I love you too, Bones.”

* * *

**06 November 2013**

_-Incoming text message from Jim Kirk: (510) 555-8267-_

JK: booooones

JK: bones nobes boens

JK: come meet me in the bahthroom

JK: ;) ;) ;)

JK: baaaaaaaaabe

LM: You’re drunk, Jim. And you’re not supposed to text on planes. Weren’t you listening to the flight attendant?

JK: no. i was 2 busy throwing back the tiny alcohol bottles

JK: im drunk and im horny boens

JK: i wanna bend u over this sink and fuck you till u scream

JK: make the whole palne hear

JK: mile high club ;) ;)

LM: If I remember correctly, you’re the one that screams during sex.

JK:  id ont care, just get ur ass back here

LM: Jim, I’m not budging from this seat until I know that you’re at least sober enough to consent.

JK: i consent, bnoes

JK: i consent, ok?

JK: i k now what i want

JK: and im glad u want to not take adva

JK: advatna

JK: goddamnit im glad u dont wanna use me

JK: but right now i want to fuck you

JK: so get ur perky ass into this bathroom

JK: please

LM: Perky ass?

JK: perky ass

JK: its perky

JK: u wear tihgt pants and ur butt looks goregous babe

LM: You can’t type for shit when you’re smashed.

JK: BONES

LM: Alright. I’m on my way back.

JK: god bless ur perky ass

* * *

**07 November 2013**

“BONES! STOP THE CAR!”

“Don’t shout at me while I’m drivin’, Jim! I nearly crashed into the person in front of us!”

“I don’t care, Bones, that’s my house!”

“Your house…? Your house from the 1700s?”

“Yeah, Bones. What else would I mean?”

“Jesus Christ, Jim! Don’t open the car door while I’m drivin’! You’re gonna get yourself hurt!”

“I need to get over there now!”

“I’m pullin’ over, I’m pullin’ over! Just hold onto your britches!”

**-after Bones has safely parked the car off the side of the road-**

“Look at the sign.”

“Kirk Homestead and Cemetery, Westchester County Dept. of Parks and Recreation.”

“They turned my house into a historical exhibit.”

“How does that make you feel, Jim?”

“Are you trying to psychoanalyze me?”

“God no, I’m not nearly qualified to do that. It was a legitimate question.”

“I don’t know. I guess I’m torn. Part of me is thankful that it’s still here. It’s protected, and people get to see what colonial life is like. I haven’t lost my link to when I was still a kid. On the other hand, part of me was hoping we’d get up here and find that the place had been razed. That would have made it easier for me to move on and leave this place behind.”

“How does it make you feel to know that you’re referenced in the sign detailing the site’s history?”

“I’m what?!”

“The Kirk Homestead was home to members of the Westchester County Kirk family from 1731 until 1809, when the last surviving member of the Kirk family passed away at the age of 70. The home was originally inhabited by George and Winona Kirk, along with their sons Samuel and James. George passed away in 1745. James travelled to Europe in 1771 and never returned, his ultimate fate remains unknown. Winona passed away the following year at age 61. Samuel lived on site until his death in 1809. After his death, his wife Aurelan left the site and returned to her hometown of Philadelphia. The couple had no children. The on-site cemetery contains the bodies of George, Winona, and Samuel. The body of James was never recovered. Since 1809, the site has passed from owner to owner until finally coming into possession of the Westchester County government in 1964.”

“The whole trip was pointless.”

“I’m sorry….I thought that maybe….I didn’t know.”

“I’m going to go visit my family one last time. Alone.”

“I’ll wait by the car.”

**-Same day, much later-**

“Jim, it’s been several hours. Are you alright?”

“I’ve just been filling my folks in on where I’ve been. Everything that’s happened. I want to believe that they can hear me, wherever they’re at.”

“Oh.”

“Look, they even put up a tombstone for me. Is that morbid or what? James Tiberius Kirk, born March 22, 1745. Died 1771. It’s a shame that I’m not actually under there like I should be.”

“I’m glad you’re not under there.”

“Yeah. If I were under there, you’d be under a similar grave out in Oakland.”

“That’s not why I’m glad you’re not dead! I’m glad you’re here today because I love ya and care about ya, not because I’d be dead without you!”

“I….was just poking fun, Bonesy.”

“Oh fuck me, I’m sorry. I thought that maybe…you thought I’ve been stickin’ around because I owe ya my life.”

“I’d never think that.”

“I’m glad. ‘Cause I mean it. I love you.”

“I love you too. I’ve never been so happy before. But, uh….do you mind if we get out of the rain? Just because we’re vampires doesn’t mean that I’m immune to being wet.”

“Oh, yeah. Course we can. Did you want to stick around here any longer or do you wanna just go back home.”

“I want to go home. I’m sure Nyota’s clawing at the doors now that we’re not there.”

* * *

**13 November 2013**

- _Jim Kirk (countkirkula) is now online_ -

JK: Hey

LM: You’re alive.

JK: Yep.

LM: I haven’t heard from you since we got back. You practically bolted from my car once we pulled onto the street.

JK: I needed time. To process.

LM: I understand. I’m not upset. Are you doing okay?

JK: I miss them, Bones.

JK: I put them out of my mind for all these years because I knew they were dead and I knew they weren’t coming back.

JK: and then you brought up the possibility that maybe some part of my family still existed

JK: and I’m not blaming you

JK: but for the first time in a long time, I was hopeful

JK: I wanted to meet the next-next-next-next-next-next generation of Kirks.

JK: but there is no next-next-next-next-next-next generation of Kirks.

JK: I’m the last one.

JK: I’ll always be the last one.

JK: I’m sorry, I know you don’t want to hear me whine about my dead family.

LM: You don’t have to apologize. You’re not whining.

JK: I can’t be alone any more.

JK: Could you come over?

JK: We don’t have to do anything.

JK: I need to be around someone.

LM: I’ll be there in a minute.

JK: Thanks.

- _Jim Kirk (countkirkula) is now offline-_

_-Leonard McCoy (mccoy1981) is now offline-_

* * *

**20 November 2013**

“Hey, Jim. You wanna answer a question for me?”

“What is it, Bonesy?”

“I was hopin’ you could tell me why there are several turkeys in your upstairs bathroom. I went to go take a leak and found at least five of the little gobblers all crammed in there.”

“Oh! You found the herd! Damn, they were supposed to be a surprise.”

“You were gonna surprise me with a buncha turkeys?”

“Yep.”

“Why on earth would you give me a buncha turkeys?”

“Well, I know that you’re a doctor and that doctors are big on the Hippocratic Oath, so I figured I’d save some lives of my own this Thanksgiving. Namely, the lives of those turkeys! I’m keeping people from doing harm to them. I guess you could say that I’m like a turkey doctor.”

“That is….the biggest feat of mental gymnastics I’ve ever seen you perform. And you still haven’t gotten around to tellin’ me why you were gonna give _me_ the turkeys.”

“I was hoping we could keep them. Raise them. They could be our turkey children.”

“Dammit, Jim! I’m a doctor, not a turkey farmer!”

“Well…..you _could_ be a turkey farmer. If you wanted.”

“I can’t believe that I’m goin’ along with this…..I’ll keep _one_ of them. Just one, Jim.”

“What am I supposed to do with the rest? I’m not a turkey farmer, I’m a vampire!”

“You’ve gotta be kiddin’ me! I’m not a turkey farmer either and you wanted me to take the whole lot of ‘em!”

“Yeah, but I figured you could care for them better than I could.”

“Jim. You either keep the rest of ‘em or you take ‘em all back to wherever they came from.”

“What if we kept one and had joint custody, but took the rest back?”

“If you wanna keep one, knock yourself out.”

“Do you think I could set the other turkeys free in the woods? Would they survive out here in Oakland?”

“Let me remind you – I know absolutely nothing about turkeys, how to raise them, or their natural habitat.”

“I guess I’ll just stick them at the fence line in the backyard and let them run free.”

“If you think that’s the best idea.”

“I think it is. I’m gonna keep one of the turkeys though. You need to help me come up with a name for the one I keep.”

“You could just call it Jim Jr. I’m sure whatever turkey you choose to keep will be just as annoying as you can be.”

“Maybe I will, Bones. Maybe I will.”

* * *

**28 November 2013**

“Happy Thanksgiving, Jim! Didja sleep well?”

“You’re too chipper for this early in the afternoon. Honestly, Bones….you’re a little bit too chipper period. It’s kind of scary. I’m afraid the flesh is gonna melt off your face from the intensity of your smile.”

“Gee, thanks.”

“See, there’s that scowl that I’m used to!”

“I’m goin’ back to bed.”

“No, no, no! Bonesy, Bonesy, I was just kidding! Don’t go back to bed.”

“Nah, you were rude to me. Dunno why I should stay down here if you’re just gonna pick on me.”

“C’mon, babe. Don’t you wanna stay down here and hang around with me? After all, it’s Thanksgiving and I’m thankful that you’re my immortal boyfriend. I guess I should be giving you thanks for sticking around.”

“And how, exactly, were you gonna thank me for bein’ your boyfriend?”

“I was thinking that maybe you and I could have some incredible sex to start.”

“I suppose I could get behind incredible sex, but only if I got to hear you holler and shout again.”

“You mean like I did on the plane?”

“Just like you did on the plane.”

“That can be arranged. Now are you going to stay down here and fuck me or are you going back up to bed?”

“I think you already know my answer, Kirk.”

“I know your answer and I’m thankful for it.”

“That’s corny.”

“It’s true though. It’s Thanksgiving and I’m thankful that you’ve agreed to have sex with me.”

“Just get your ass over to the couch.”

“Ooh, pushy. Somebody can’t wait.”

“For God’s sake, Jim, do you wanna get fucked or not? I can turn around and go back upstairs if you’re gonna keep talkin’.”

“I’m going, babe, I’m going!”

“And not a goddamn moment too soon.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we are at the end of another chapter! I hope that you guys are continuing to enjoy the story, and I hope that you're excited for upcoming chapters. The next chapter will take place directly after this one. However, it will also be the last chapter in the "present" for Jim and Bones. We start time-hopping in chapter 4!
> 
> As always, feel free to leave comments, questions, and concerns below! I'm always thrilled to read what you guys have to say!

**Author's Note:**

> As of right now, I don't know how many chapters this will go on for. I have plot outlines for at least four more chapters that cover up until post Star Trek: Beyond. We'll see where the story (and the fan feedback) takes us!


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